


Face Down

by snarkyscorp



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Infidelity, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Power Play, Snape Lives, informal D/s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-31
Updated: 2012-05-31
Packaged: 2017-11-06 10:21:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/417757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkyscorp/pseuds/snarkyscorp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One grievous error could cost Percy everything he has so desperately built for himself—his life of normality, his family, and his sanity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Face Down

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://weasley-fest.livejournal.com/profile)[**weasley_fest**](http://weasley-fest.livejournal.com/) 2009.

It was a normal morning like all others. Percy kissed his wife goodbye, bid his young daughter a happy morning, and Apparated to a safe-point near the Ministry. He walked the several London city blocks to the entrance, smiled at all the usual inhabitants in the lift as he descended towards his post, and retrieved inter-office memos from his secretary.

It was a normal, sunny, summer morning. His office was filled with faux sunlight from his magicked window, there was a cup of hot tea waiting for him at his desk, and he was prepared for a full, normal day of business. The Ministry was wonderfully like clockwork, and Percy craved a strict order to all things, including his life.

So it surprised him tenfold when his average routine was interrupted by a surprise visitor.

Stepping into his office, Percy spotted Harry instantly. Standing near the window, looking out as if mesmerized by the aimless, sparse clouds and too-vivid blue sky. Percy cleared his throat, and Harry turned instantly.

Harry's lips formed a large, wide smile. "I love that you're on time. You know you are the _only_ person in the Ministry who ever arrives just as the clock strikes eight?"

Percy grinned. "I pride myself on it, Harry. What can I do for you?"

Harry's smile began to fade. "Well."

It had been months since Percy had seen Harry, and he had to admit the young man looked worse for the wear. Since joining the Aurors, Harry was gone on missions more often than he was home to relax, and Percy was sure that kind of lifestyle could truly tear a person apart. Even though Harry and Ginny had been married over a year now, Percy could already tell the Auror routine was driving a rift between them.

"Just say it, Harry," Percy pushed, drawing closer to rest a hand on Harry's shoulder. Already he was hoping this wasn't going to be a 'personal talk'. That was more Ron's thing, or Bill's. "I've got a lot of work to do today, after all..."

"You have a lot of work to do every day," Harry said, though his tone was teasing. "And actually, that's why I'm here. I thought you could use some assistance."

Percy faltered a bit, brows knotted. "You...want to apply for a job under me?"

Snorting, Harry shook his head wildly. "Oh Merlin no, Percy." Harry's cheeks coloured as he spotted the look on Percy's face. "I mean, not that I wouldn't be, uh, floored to work in the legal department, but... Look, I've got someone in mind to help you."

"You know you can just send a memo and I'll sign it," Percy said, waving Harry away. "You needn't have come all the way over here to clear it with me first. Anyone you've got in mind, send them along and I'll find work for them. Mind, it'll be all the mundane paperwork I'd rather not dwell on myself."

To make his point about wanting to get back into his work routine, Percy sat down behind his desk and began shuffling papers. Much as he liked Harry, deterring from his schedule was not something Percy was interested in.

"Perfect," Harry said, making his way towards the door. "Just remember that you said that."

Percy looked up, quirking a brow. "Why?"

"No reason! See you!"

Harry bolted from the room so fast that the papers Percy was handling fluttered out of his grasp.

~*~

Maybe Percy wouldn't have thought too much about Harry's odd behaviour if it wasn't for the fact that the next morning, Harry interrupted his routine for the second day in a row. This time, he did it via an inter-office memo that whizzed through Percy's office and lodged itself under his armpit just as he had perched himself on the topmost step of a Stretch-Up ladder to reach the legal documents at the top of his bookshelf.

Wobbling a bit, Percy dislodged the memo and opened it. It was a standard letter, at least, written on Ministry-grade parchment, something that Percy appreciated in contentment.

However, despite how by-the-book the letter was, the last sentence of the memo was so surprising that Percy nearly toppled off the ladder in shock. It said, simply:

  


_Your new assistant, Mr. Severus Snape, will be in tomorrow to start his employment under your department._  


~*~

Percy's entire evening and morning routines were botched because of that single memo. Percy even took an afternoon off—something he hadn't done since the war—just to have a drink at the pub close to his home—something he had _never_ done—to dwell on the horrible, terrifying news. Severus Snape, who had been in Azkaban for the past five years, who had murdered and betrayed and worked under Voldemort, who nobody trusted except Harry, was going to be his assistant. Assistant! As if Snape was going to have anything to do with assisting him.

The fact of the matter was, however, that Percy had given Harry his word. Never mind it was only a verbal agreement with no legal binding (Percy would know, being the Head Solicitor to the Minister); Percy was a man of his word now, a man of honesty and truth, of keeping promises. He couldn't back out without warning, just because he suspected Snape was going to poison him while he wasn't looking.

Although there were regulations about "suspicion of intent to harm"…

That evening, Percy was distant with Audrey. He neglected little Molly, letting her crawl and stumble into the furniture as he cradled a goblet of Firewhiskey in his fist. The cold glass was hard against his palm, indifferent to the heat of his anxiety when he squeezed it with his sweaty fingers.

Audrey made a fantastic dinner that Percy hardly touched. When she asked if he was all right, he nodded but made no move to answer. Disrupted from his schedule, it was hard to fall back into the normality of his life again. He felt isolated and unresolved, like a book with no binding.

The next morning, Percy arrived five minutes late to work, already shaken from his routine as the anxiety of the day began to settle into his bones. Thankfully, his office was vacant when he entered it, though he wouldn't have put it past Snape to be hiding in the shadows. On edge as he sat down behind his desk, Percy half expected Snape to pop out at him from under his chair or from within a secret passage behind a bookshelf.

Bright blue eyes glanced up at the clock, which showed ten past eight by the time he had settled. The tick of the clock's slender hands tolled hard in Percy's ears.

What was he going to _do_ with Snape once they were face-to-face? Percy had never been afraid of Snape in school, but Snape was the only professor at Hogwarts who had graded Percy purposely lower than necessary. It was one of the many reasons Percy had never taken to potion-making.

Percy could still recall walking into the dungeons for Potions his second year, after Snape had threatened to hold him back for remedial Potions. He had been a lean, lanky, skinny boy then, an easy target for bullies and those ready to take advantage. Snape was no different, purposely looking the other way when two Slytherin beaters shoved Percy against the wall in front of the classroom and made fun of his hand-me-down robes. They were Bill's and quite a bit big for him at that age.

A knock at his door startled Percy from his reverie. The tip of his quill, which had been poised over a text he was marking, splotched the parchment sloppily. Swallowing behind his nerves, Percy's trembling fingers dipped the quill back in its holder and he stood, unsure why he was showing such formality to a man who had callously killed and tortured for his own goals, and waved the door open.

"C-Come in," he called, shaking voice betraying his anxiety.

When the door opened, Percy was relieved to see Harry stride in with a smile.

"Harry!" Percy exhaled, grinning broadly. "So happy you could..." His voice trailed off as the broad, dark figure of Severus Snape slithered in behind Harry, his dark eyes lowered and greasy strands of hair cut short but still managing to obscure his gaze.

"Good morning, Percy!" Harry said, his voice more cheerful than usual. "You remember Prof—uh, Severus, I mean?"

Percy nodded solemnly, taking Snape's cold shoulder as the opportunity to memorize the new shape of him, the new lines wrinkling at his eyes and mouth. The man was still tall, still infamously ugly, but there was a new age to him, a sadness Percy had never seen before. Snape looked worn, but imagining his stay in Azkaban, Percy could certainly understand the change in attitude.

"Of course," Percy breathed, cautious of his tone. "Pleased to see you again, of course, Professor."

Snape looked up so suddenly that Percy almost fell backwards when their eyes met. He hadn't realized he was leaning in so intensely to gape at the other man. Snape's dark eyes pierced his own, and Percy felt heat crawl over his throat and face as the old, familiar feeling of being a scrawny schoolboy under Snape's foreboding glares came back to him in full force.

"I am no longer your professor," Snape said, his voice a low, nasal drawl. "You may thus call me Severus, or Mr. Snape if that makes you more comfortable."

The tension hung like a noose between them, until Harry broke the silence.

"Well, I'm sure you two have quite a bit to get settled," Harry said, clearing his throat in the same breath. "Please come find me if either of you need anything."

Cautiously, Harry laid his hand atop Snape's shoulder. Snape recoiled from it with a roll of his shoulders and adjusted himself tall before them, purposefully glancing away and out Percy's makeshift window.

"Right then," Harry said quietly, voice a tinge sad. "Thanks again, Percy."

"Don't mention it," Percy said, not because he meant it but because he knew Snape was listening, and the last thing he wanted was for Snape to know Percy wasn't happy to help him.

Harry left them alone, closing them into Percy's comfortably-sized office that suddenly felt like a cramped jail cell. He wasn't sure where to begin or what to do with Snape. An assistant would go through the law ledgers, learn how to take dictation and research new courses for future proceedings, but Snape was a grown man who had once been known as the best Potions Master in the world. Being somebody's assistant must have been an awfully large step down for the man. Even Percy realized it would be humiliating to subject Snape to busywork meant for amateurs.

As if reading his mind, Snape turned towards him then and quirked a single, dark brow. "And what shall I be doing for you, Mr. Weasley?"

Percy felt a little sick thinking it over. "I...honestly hadn't thought that far in advance, sir."

Snape scoffed. "I am no longer your superior, Mr. Weasley. As aforementioned, you may call me Severus or Mr. Snape, whichever will appear to make you less squeamish in saying my name. Calling me 'sir' and 'professor' is a game I do not wish to play. All things considered, I do know my place, and you should learn your own."

Percy's eyes were wide, and his jaw somewhat slack. "I...well, of course, of course." He cleared his throat and looked down at the stack of paperwork awaiting him, as if it had just appeared and he was already late in getting started on clearing it. "Severus. Yes," he added, wishing he could crawl under his desk and hide for the remainder of the day.

When he looked up, Snape was still staring at him. The older man's dark gaze was keen and intense, boring into the very depths of his soul. Percy knew Snape had been a talented Legilimens, or at least Harry had said as much at Snape's trials, and now Percy understood what it was to be on the receiving end of such a knowing, uncomfortable stare.

"If you can provide me the necessary ingredients, I would be more than happy to brew a Calming Draught to settle your nerves, Mr. Weasley," Snape said, moving closer to the desk. "Or, if I am to assist you, I could be tasked to visit an apothecary to procure the draught directly. Though in your case, I would think a shot of whiskey might be better than any potion even I could brew."

Percy snorted and then immediately covered his mouth, as if disgusted by the noise he'd made. But...Snape had made a joke, hadn't he? It was appropriate to laugh, even in uncomfortable situations.

Snape was sneering just so at him, the corner of his thin lips tilted mysteriously. "Whiskey, then? A toast to my new position here."

"It-It's barely after eight, sir—Severus," Percy said, torn between a chuckle at Snape's obvious disregard for the time and an uncomfortable exhale at knowing drinking to ease the discomfort sounded better than any amount of paperwork awaiting him.

"I certainly won't say a word if you won't."

When Percy didn't immediately answer, Severus retrieved his wand and began an incantation. Out of reflex and fear, Percy clumsily groped for his own wand and pointed it at Snape shouting _Expelliarmus!_ at the same time as Snape said _Accio Firewhiskey_.

Snape's wand went flying as Percy hauled himself over the desk, wand trained on Snape's pale throat. He would have managed to secure Snape if not for the bottle of Firewhiskey that flew out from under his desk. The bottle knocked into the small of Percy's back, digging into his spine. Stumbling forward, propelled by the bottle's force against his body, Percy fell against Snape gracelessly, long limbs tangling around him for support. To his surprise, Snape caught his body, though the force of his fall sent both men stumbling, until Snape's back hit the wall and Percy's body landed flush against his.

Heat swam through Percy's face, down his throat, over his chest. Blotchy with embarrassment and some strange coil of heat in his stomach, Percy stared up at Snape breathlessly. Then, ever so slowly, Snape reached around Percy's waist, pressing their bodies closer. For one terrifying, strange moment, Percy thought Snape was going to kiss him, and in that same wild instant, Percy was going to let him.

Just as Percy closed his eyes and tipped his face, Snape nudged him away. When Percy opened his eyes again, Snape had put several feet between them and was holding the bottle of Firewhiskey at his side. Jaw slack, breath heavy, Percy watched as Snape bent to retrieve his wand as well, the corners of his lips again twisting in the familiar old sneer.

"I see your reflexes have quite improved since your schooldays, Mr. Weasley," Snape drawled, eyes low as they swept over Percy's slouched, dishevelled form against the wall. "Though I am afraid the same cannot be said for your common sense. Are you truly so brainless as to think I would attempt a spell against you, right here in the middle of the Ministry, after Potter went through hell to release me from Azkaban and risked his career to secure one for me? I thought that in your family, you were heralded 'the smart one'."

Percy was numb, as if Snape had just slapped him across the face. More than anything, he felt guilty for assuming Snape had been about to hex his head off, but there was a lingering embarrassment at his other assumptions too.

Snape sighed. "I am only here as a brief recess between careers, Mr. Weasley, so let us make this as pleasurable and comfortable as we possibly can. There is no need for suspicions or arguments; simply provide me with a duty, I will do as you say, and we will go our separate ways once I have a résumé that does not include attempted murder and war crimes."

Swallowing behind the hard, unforgiving lump in his throat, Percy nodded. But he couldn't stop himself from nodding, so he just kept going, like a Muggle bobble toy in his anxiety and embarrassment.

"Oh Merlin's beard," Snape barked, setting the carafe of whiskey aside in favour of gripping Percy's chin. The firm, hard touch settled Percy, and their eyes met. "What must I do to prove the man I once was no longer exists? Surely you were at my trial and heard Potter's testimony."

Percy nodded, just once this time. "Yes," he said quietly.

"But...?" Snape probed, drawing close. Percy could smell the faint cloves-and-mint scent that had always clouded his senses when Snape was near. It used to fill him with dread—now all he could feel was arousal, coiling unexpectedly tight in his stomach, like the first time Audrey had kissed him. "You still do not trust me, even after the things Potter told you? Even after the memories I proved in front of the Wizengamot?"

"I trust the law," Percy breathed, his entire face hot under Snape's gaze.

Snape's sneer was intoxicating the closer he drew. "Of course you do. You always were a stickler for the rules."

"The rules are what keeps society intact." Percy felt silly and stupid for his beliefs suddenly, though Snape showed no interest in poking fun at them.

"That they do, Mr. Weasley. Yet..." Snape was so close now that their bodies were pressed together, Percy's back slumped helplessly again against the wall, mouth bobbed open and eyes wide. "Sometimes breaking the rules is more satisfying. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I wouldn't know," Percy said quickly, his breath exhaled in sharp puffs. He could feel his entire body warming under the pressure of Snape's lithe body and the heat of his stare.

"Surely, even Percy Weasley has broken a rule or two."

"Never," Percy croaked, squeezing his eyes shut, because Snape was so close to him now, their mouths scant inches apart, the scent of Snape overwhelming as Percy inhaled.

Snape's chuckle was warm and low in his throat; the sound of it went straight to Percy's prick, which was hard and uncomfortable under his robes and pressed trousers. When Snape reached up and stroked the side of Percy's face with the backs of his long fingers, Percy was unable to keep the moan from tearing out of his throat like he had been trying to hold it in for years. He felt Snape's fingers stutter against his skin, and Percy's eyes snapped open to gape at the older man, whose lips were so close now that it would be impossible not to kiss them.

"What a pity," Snape breathed. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven," Percy croaked, reaching up to grip Snape's wrist, though whether he was trying to stop Snape or not was unclear.

"Surely a young man such as yourself longs to take risks, to break a few rules in his life?"

Percy's throat clenched tightly as Snape angled his face, his thin, pale lips brushing over Percy's with the lightest, most tentative touch. Without knowing it, Percy's eyes closed again, and he groaned like a man void of his senses. Whispering the litany "yes, Merlin yes," Percy could no longer recognize the sound of his own voice or the desires raging through his body.

When their lips met again, Snape was not so gentle. Their kiss was clumsy and bruising, nothing like when Percy had first kissed Audrey or Penelope. Snape's mouth was hot and slick, hard and raw, and when his tongue slid into Percy's mouth, it sought the deepest parts of it. Percy felt choked by him, like Snape was trying to claim every part of him that he could as quickly as he dared. It wasn't at all like any of the kisses Percy had shared with others; it was awkward and strained, like Snape wasn't sure of what he was doing.

Then Snape's hands were on his body, roaming up the flat, slender planes that drew Percy's form. Snape was strong and insistent as he pulled at Percy's robes and hiked them up over his hips. Cold fingers worked under his jumper, and Percy gasped, balls aching as all the blood rushed down between his legs.

Dizzied by the kiss and thankful for the opportunity to take a breath, Percy was offered little solace before Snape's mouth found the juncture of his throat and shoulder. Automatically, Percy's fingers tangled in Snape's hair, gripping and tugging, as his body arched off the wall. Snape's arm wrapped around Percy's waist, hauling him close, while his free hand made short work of the fly on Percy's trousers.

That was Percy's cue to struggle—he had never in his life been groped in public, midday, by another man no less, and the gravity of the situation finally hit him hard.

"Stop it," Percy gasped, pushing Snape away with his palms flat against the other man's chest. Once Snape was an arm's length away and Percy could breathe again, he realized Snape was staring down below his waist with a sneer. Percy followed the line of his gaze and flushed as he realized he was hard and the evidence of his arousal was currently arching out of his trousers where Snape had managed to free it. Leaning against the wall, Percy grabbed his cock and tried with shaking hands to replace it to his trousers. The pressure of Snape's grip on his wrist made him pause, eyes locking instantly with the older man's.

"Are you telling me to stop because you truly want me to or because it is expected of you?"

Percy couldn't breathe. He felt sick and annoyed and angry and humiliated all at once, in a wave of emotion that crested and burned in his chest. When he couldn't speak to answer, Snape gently pulled his hands away from his erection and replaced them with one of his own, which tightly gripped the base of Percy's cock and jerked just once up to the swollen head.

"Please!" Percy cried, though he couldn't tell what he was begging for anymore. His eyes watered and throat choked with his arousal and embarrassment.

"You have never let another man handle you like this, have you?"

"No! Oh Merlin, please, please, please!" Percy had never begged for anything in his life, but it was impossible to keep from exhaling demands like he couldn't live without them.

Snape's fingers deftly stroked Percy until he was bucking wildly into his fist.

"Has anyone ever made you come like this?" Snape went on darkly, breath hard against Percy's mouth and jaw. "Hard and fast, up against a wall with a hard body against your own? Do you like it this way? No choices, only orders you must follow?"

"Yes, Gods yes, Professor."

The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop himself, but for the first time that day Snape did not reprimand him. Instead, he chuckled quietly against the shell of Percy's ear. The very sound of it sent Percy whirling off the edge. When he came, Snape groaned against him and bit at his earlobe as he jerked and rubbed Percy raw.

As he came down from his orgasm, Percy slumped helplessly. It was only Snape's arm around his waist that kept Percy standing; he was sure without it, he would have slid like a ragdoll to the floor. As it was, he just stood there lamely, panting as Snape's fingers stroked every last drip of come out of his softening length.

When Snape pulled back, Percy couldn't meet his eyes. What in bloody hell had he just done? Percy was never one to let go, never a man to cheat or be selfish. But now, for one brief moment of ecstasy, he might have ruined his perfect, balanced, normal life.

"Are you all right, Mr. Weasley?"

Snape's voice grated on Percy's nerves. No, of course he wasn't all right, but what was he expected to say now? And what was he expected to do? What did one do or say after they had just been jerked off by someone who was nearly a stranger? What did they know of each other to have come this far?

"I think I'm going to be sick," Percy whispered, voice tight in his throat as his body heated.

Snape's fingers curled under his chin and forced their eyes yet again to meet. Percy felt like a helpless doll again, caught under Snape's snare. He had never let other men handle him the way Snape easily did.

"You will be fine," Snape said, and before Percy could snap at him that it wasn't likely he'd ever be fine again, Snape continued. "Do not be ashamed that you enjoyed that."

"I didn't enjoy it," Percy croaked, nostrils flaring in his sudden anger. Limply, he sank to his knees when Snape released him.

"I think you did," Snape whispered, his long fingers tangling in Percy's hair.

"Let me go!"

Snape's fingers tightened and jerked Percy's head back until he was staring up into Snape's dark black eyes. Lost in them for a second, Percy forgot to breathe.

"I think you enjoy relinquishing power, breaking out of the role you so eagerly cling to. I think what you want most of all is to lose control, to be submissive to another human, to put your life and pleasure in someone else's hands." Snape's voice was a warm whisper in the silence between them. "I have not been with many other partners, especially not in the capacity I am willing to offer you right now. I will only ask you once, a very simple question. Your answer will be the deciding factor, but you will only have five seconds to make your choice. Silence on your part constitutes a 'yes', as I do not care for indecisiveness. Is that clear?"

Percy nodded as quickly as he could manage, shaking as Snape's fingers tightened yet again, pulling his hair until his scalp burned. He tried to steel himself for the question that was tingling on Snape's lips, but for the life of him all he could concentrate on was the feel of Snape's possessive fingers against his skin, tangled in his hair.

Carefully, Snape crouched down before Percy. Their eyes met again, noses brushing in the close proximity, and Percy felt his softened cock responding swiftly to the scent of Snape's breath and the look on his face.

"Am I right in my supposition that you would like to have your control relinquished, that if I were to do exactly what I want with you, without care for the consequences or your reactions, that you would enjoy this?"

Five seconds to answer one of the most complicated questions Percy had ever had posed to him. It was the last thing he expected, and his response was uncharacteristic and hoarse as he breathed it solemnly, before he had the chance to dwell on the outcome it would bring forth.

"Yes."

No sooner had the word slipped from his lips than Percy ached to take it back, but Snape was already on his feet, already freeing his erection and shoving it between Percy's unsuspecting lips. Snape's fingers were unrelenting as he pressed them into Percy's mouth, forcing his jaw to drop, providing room for Snape's prick to slide in like it was meant to go there.

Snape groaned above him, fingers removed and replaced with his cock, which Snape pushed further and further into Percy's mouth, until Percy gagged and Snape was forced to release him or get his erection bit. But to Percy's surprise, Snape shoved his cock deep again; Percy gripped Snape's body to keep himself upright, unsure what he was supposed to do but knowing whatever he was attempting was making Snape happy.

Somehow, despite the gripping guilt of knowing this was the exact wrong thing to be doing, Percy was more aroused than he had ever been in his life. The one horrible thought that kept playing through his mind was, _What if Snape was right?_ What if the only thing that truly got Percy off, that made him happy, was being relinquished of his control like this? Being used like some creature? By Snape of all people…

Percy gripped the base of his own length as he sucked Snape off, and when Snape came, choking his orgasm down Percy's throat, Percy had his second orgasm of the morning. As his come splattered atop Snape's boots, Percy pulled off Snape's prick and bowed his head against the older man's warm thigh.

It took several moments before Percy realized Snape was stroking his hair. The touch was so simple, so deft and tender, like Snape encompassed the kind of gentleness of Audrey or Penelope. They remained that way, Percy on his knees with Snape's fingers in his hair, for a long while.

When Snape pulled away, Percy felt feverish and ill. Swaying, he excused himself for the loo, and barely managed to tuck himself back in his trousers before he exited his office and the Ministry building itself.

~*~

"Are you all right, Percy?"

Audrey's voice was like a distant bell, tolling miles away from his sanity. When he looked at her finally, he felt drained of every emotion he had felt that day, void of whatever was left of his sanity, like a man who had been marooned and finally found his way back home. Audrey had always been a beacon of light for Percy, his tether to the shore, but staring at her right then, he felt no more connected to her than he would have a stranger on the Knight Bus.

It was raining on their balcony, but Percy had been sitting there for hours. Drenched, he blinked the water away with a shudder as he stared blankly at his wife, some complete stranger he had shared a bed and bore a child with. They had been married for nearly three years now. Percy had never loved anyone like he loved Audrey, and yet, he felt detached from her and the strange life they shared. How could it ever be the same again, after what he had done with Snape? Percy did not deserve her forgiveness, nor anyone else's—he deserved to lay face down on some cold floor, laced with bruises, and punished.

The sick thought of Snape punishing him crept into his vision for what wasn't the first time that evening.

"Percy?" Audrey's voice was strained now and her eyes were wet with tears, rainwater slapping from the sill onto her cheeks.

"I'm fine," he whispered, though they both knew he wasn't.

"I have to talk to you. Won't you come inside? Molly is behaving now—I promise she won't bother you."

Percy smiled, the first real smile he had shown his wife all evening. "Molly never bothers me, Audrey. She is as sweet as sugar."

Stepping back into the flat, Percy attempted to dry himself off with a few spells, but Audrey beat him to it when his lips trembled too much to get the incantation right.

"There you are," she said, eyes still large and glassy as she smoothed down his clothes.

Percy reached up, tentatively combing through her soft brown hair. She was so unlike Snape, so unlike anyone he had ever met and a better wife than any man could have ever asked for. He loved her, surely, with all his heart. He had never had reason to think something was missing until now, when it seemed so irreparable between them.

Without warning, she burst into tears and pulled herself into his arms. Holding her, Percy felt shattered and weak.

"I'm pregnant," she said, filling the silence between them with the only words that choked Percy's reply in his throat.

~*~

"I am being transferred," Snape interrupted coldly.

Percy stood before Harry's desk, beside Snape, whose eyes he couldn't manage to meet at all. Even as Percy had explained the reason for asking Snape to be transferred, Snape's unfeeling interruption had said it all. Of course, Snape knew the real reason Percy wanted him out of his sight, but even Severus Snape couldn't have guessed the underlying reasons at home that had prompted his sudden request.

"Are you sure you two can't work this out?" Harry asked, frowning heavily.

Percy chose not to meet Harry's eyes either. Instead, he nodded solemnly, every breath a heavy load on his lungs.

"I guess I really don't have much of a choice then, Severus," Harry said. "But I'm sure I can find another position easily; somewhere you can—"

"No." Snape's voice was so crisply defiant that even Percy looked up at the sound of it. "If you please, Potter, I will find my own path. I assure you, Weasley's distaste for me mirrors the distaste most witches and wizards alike will feel if you shove me into their departments."

"But, Severus—"

"Consider my first suggestion to you when I was released from Azkaban," Snape snapped. "I should have known the Ministry was filled with such hypocrites as these."

When Snape stormed out, Percy felt Harry's eyes lingering on him.

"Going to tell me what really happened?" Harry asked.

"With all due respect, Harry—"

"I know, it's none of my business." Harry sighed. "I was just…hoping I guess he could live a normal life for once. I don't think that comfort has ever been one he has been offered."

Guilt washing over Percy, he managed to simply nod. When he left Harry's office, he felt the bitter sting of responsibility settling hard in his stomach. Of course Snape wanted a normal life—didn't everyone? How dare Harry think Snape was the only person who deserved that! Didn't Percy deserve it to? After all he had done for himself?

As he rounded the corner into his office, the door slammed shut behind him and a strong hand wrapped about his throat. Half-choked and starting to panic, Percy was forced down to his knees. Gazing up at the dark form of Severus Snape, Percy's insides twisted anxiously.

"I do hope you are happy, Weasley," Snape spat, fingers tightening. "With your little family, your wife, your happy normality."

"I am!" Percy croaked, desperately clawing at Snape's fingers to get them to release. When they finally did, Percy gasped for air. Snape gave him little time for breathing before he was hauled to his feet and shoved against the wall. "S-Severus, please don't—"

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I asked you that single question yesterday, Weasley." Snape's breath was against his own again, and Percy's lips unconsciously parted, mouth dry. "You said you were willing. You wanted this. Me. Everything I can offer. There is no relationship between us, no marriage or love—just a simple understanding of what we both want and need. I had thought you understood that when you—"

"Audrey's pregnant," Percy blurted, searching Snape's gaze as best he could. "My wife. She's pregnant."

Snape backed away like an animal being preyed upon, his black eyes narrowed and his lips set firmly. Percy opened his mouth to continue, to explain, but Snape waved him off.

"Your marriage, your children," he spat, "None of them will ever bring the satisfaction you would have had giving yourself to me over and over, willing yourself to give up control for brief moments of reprieve. You will spend the rest of your life wondering what it might have been like to live above normality, beyond it, careening off the crests of the things you desire most."

And with that, Snape left, the door slamming behind him.

Breathless in the sudden silence of the moment, Percy trembled as he wiped the sweat from his face. His cock was hard under the cloth of his fine clothes, and when he dropped to his knees to jerk himself off, he thought of Snape, not of Audrey, and of relinquished control and hard fucks.

Even Percy understood though, those were only desires. Fleeting as the wind.


End file.
